This past week, on August 18th and 19th, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office Traffic Enforcement Unit, along with several grant-funded deputies, participated in a traffic enforcement surge operation.
The primary focus of the operation was vehicle speeding and distracted driving on specific roadways in northeastern El Paso County.
Throughout the operation, El Paso County Sheriff's Office deputies conducted 102 traffic stops resulting in 102 citations (some were multiple violations per contact).
Ninety speeding tickets were issued, three seat-belt violations, one reckless driving, one driving under revocation, and other violations.
Additionally, several warnings were given for minor equipment violations.
"Reckless driving is not something we will tolerate in El Paso County. When a driver chooses to speed, drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or drive while distracted, they put their life and the innocent lives of others at risk. My job as Sheriff is to protect citizens' rights on our roadways, which includes enforcing traffic laws in our county to ensure the safety of those traveling.
"I am extremely proud of the work our Traffic Enforcement Unit does daily to keep community members safe on the roads. Unfortunately, El Paso County has held the title of most traffic-related deaths in Colorado for far too long. It's time for this horrible statistic to change and these concerted traffic surge efforts, help us to save lives in our community." - Sheriff Joseph Roybal
During the evenings of August 18th and 19th, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office supported a Colorado State Patrol impaired-driving operation in the Pikes Peak region.
These increased joint-operational patrols resulted in 36 traffic contacts, two DUI arrests, one DUID arrest, and 12 additional traffic citations. This also included one speeding violation for a driver doing 92 mph in a 55 mph zone.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office has already conducted several traffic enforcement surge operations in 2023 and we intend to hold several more during the remainder of the year. The next traffic enforcement surge operation to be held with our regional law enforcement partners is scheduled for October 13th.